Civil Litigation & Dispute Resolution

What courses can I take?

Courses to consider in the upper years*

• Evidence
• Practical Civil Procedure
• Trial Advocacy
• Advanced Advocacy: problems and techniques
• Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Legal Environment
• Negotiation
• Mediation
• Class Actions Law & Practice
• International Commercial and Investor State Arbitration
• Capstone Course: The Role of the Judge
• Ethical Issues in Alternative Dispute Resolution
• Perspectives on Civil Litigation, Procedure & Professionalism

*Not all courses are offered in each academic year. Please consult the Course Calendar and Upper Year Courses by Subject Area resources.

How can I get hands-on experience?

Experiential opportunities

• Downtown Legal Services Clinic (esp. employment, immigration/refugee, family, housing, university affairs; for credit, paid summer positions or volunteer)
• Advocates for Injured Workers Externship
• Barbra Schlifer Clinic Externship
• Pro Bono Ontario Litigation Externship
• Any Moot (including Laskin, Walsh, Willms & Shier Environmental, Winkler Class Actions, Isaac Diversity, and Upper Year moots)
• Grand Moot Competitive Program
• Arnup Cup Competition
• Canadian Labour Arbitration Competition
• Walsh Family Law Negotiation Competition
• Client Counselling Competition

How else can I get involved?

Community/volunteer

• Pro Bono Students Canada projects (including Ontario Deputy Judges Association Legal Internship and Toronto Deputy Judges Small Claims Court Clerking projects)
• The Litigation Association Club
• Alternative Dispute Resolution Society

How can I connect with employers?

Work and networking ideas

Networking opportunities

• Firm tours (check UTLC Events tab for details)
• Informational interviews (go to UTLC > Resource Library > Interviews for guidance)
• Events hosted by professional associations such as the Advocates’ Society
• Lawyers Doing Cool Things

Fellowships & internships

Past paid Donner Fellowship placement sites include:

• The Canadian Civil Liberties Association
• Industrial Accident Victims’ Group of Ontario
• Advocacy Centre for the Elderly

Paid opportunities

Employers offering paid summer and articling opportunities in this area include:

• Goldblatt Partners
• Lenczner Slaght LLP
• Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein LLP
• Polley Faith LLP

• Many full-service business law firms also have substantial civil litigation departments
• The Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General offers civil litigation opportunities in several of its Legal Services branches, including the Crown Law Office – Civil
• The Department of Justice is responsible for all litigation by or against the federal government
• Clerkships are available at several levels of provincial and federal court

What resources can I look at?

Online career resources and events

The following resources are available to current UofT Law students and alumni through UTLC:

• IL Summer Employment Guide
• General Articling Guide
• Government Interview and Information Guide
• Recruitment Guides: Students can find recruitment guides on UTLC listing positions for 1L summer, 2L summer and articling recruitment cycles for a range of legal markets
• Upper Year Student Directory to network with students who have worked in the area of Civil Litigation and dispute resolution